Berlin Phil appoints French principal trumpet
NewsAfter the usual exhaustive auditions, players of the Berlin Phil have selected a Frenchman, David Guerrier, to lead their trumpet section. Guerrier, 39, joins from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
From Toulon, Guerrier took up the instrument at the age of seven and caught German eyes by winning the ARD Competition some years back before landing a first job with the Luxembourg Phil.
A fellow-Frenchman, Guillaume Jehl, is the orchestra’s other principal trumpet.
Legend.
Wow. Guerrier is absolutely great. And an excellent French horn player too, in case they need one. Congrats all around.
Intersiting, France is more a refenrece for the oboe or the english horn.
Maurice André?
You are right but I was talking not about the soloist who make solo career but about members of orchestras. And during the last 10 years I didn t see many french players in top orchestra in the world for that instrument.
French orchestras pay very well and France is still a great place to live. Players don’t feel an urgent need to move.
Great place to live for anyone but French people ….
Voisin?
Yeyy! He’s a legend and literally very talented with many different instruments.
Two fun facts that through past 50 years to this day, first was same time two Germans (Groth and Kretzer), then two Hungarians (Tarkövi and Velenczei) and now two French in principal trumpet chairs.
Another fun fact is that his principal mate in Radio France (Alexandre Baty) was recently fully tenured in Munich Phil. And also quite fun that there’s now many French trumpet players in principal positions in top level German orchetras – Guillaume Couloumy in NDR Elbphilharmonie, Baty in Munich and now Jehl and Guerrier in Berlin. Looks that Maurice Andre’s legacy is doing well in France.
Is Guillaume Jehl from France? Thought from Luxemburg….
Interesting. I wonder how a “French” sound will blend with a German orchestra?
I wondered the same. The French tend to be lighter and more lyrical, the Germans more stolid and rounded in their sound concept. Perhaps they’ll need a translator to make this work!
I wonder if the section will use piston valve trumpets or continue with the German rotary valve instrument.
Guerrier loves the rotary.